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Engine and Transmission Rating:

Electric vehicles might seem complicated and overloaded with technology, but, in fact, one of their advantages is the functional simplicity of the powertrain. With its one-speed direct-drive transmission, the i3 pulls hard, smoothly, and in a linear fashion, all while staying completely silent. No fake engine noises here.

Part of what makes driving electric vehicles fun is that they have maximum torque available from a dead stop. In our testing, the i3 went from zero to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, an impressive 0.3 second slower than a Honda Civic Si coupe. That torquey zip helped launch it from 30 to 50 mph in 2.5 seconds and 50 to 70 in 4.4 in our passing tests. Squirting through traffic is never a problem.

For the 2018 model year, BMW will drop the outdated 21.6-kWh battery option and add an entirely new trim, the i3s that delivers slightly increased performance. It uses the 33.2-kWh pack that is now standard for the i3, but it has been injected with more juice, thanks to tweaks to its powertrain. BMW says the i3s will go from zero to 60 mph in just 6.8 seconds, but since we’ve already bested that number with a 2017 electric i3, we expect an even better result when we test the i3s.

Test Results: Acceleration

Charging System

According to BMW, a full charge of the 21.6-kWh battery pack requires 16 hours on a standard 120-volt outlet but only 3.5 hours on 240 volts. The 33.2-kWh pack requires every second of a 24-hour day for a full charge on 120-volt current but only needs 4.5 hours with a 240-volt setup.